Undergraduate Major & Minor - Marketing

Marketing is about understanding customers. Marketers create, communicate, and deliver value with the goal of satisfying customers’ needs. Marketers include puzzle-solvers, data scientists, consumer psychologists, and inspired innovators.

  • Marketers are investigative, identifying unfulfilled needs and desires.
  • Marketers are analytically-driven, quantifying the size of markets and potential for profits.
  • Marketers are strategic, pinpointing how a company can win in a competitive environment.
  • Marketers are creative, designing and promoting appealing products and services.

Job opportunities in marketing include product or brand management, consulting, customer insights, analyzing markets, sales and business development, and advertising and media communications.

Major Curriculum

View the full Marketing Major catalog:

First-year students entering Fall 2022:

Marketing Major Program Requirements and Course Descriptions

Students entering prior to Fall 2022 and transfer students entering prior to Fall 2023:

Prior to Fall 2022 Marketing Major Program Requirements and Course Descriptions

 

Minor Curriculum

View the full Marketing Minor catalog:

Marketing Minor Program Requirements and Course Descriptions

Four-year Plan

Marketing Major Sample Plan

The APAS is the official method for tracking the completion of your specific degree requirements. Please be aware that there are multiple ways for students to progress through this major. This is just one sample. Students should work with their advisor to develop their individual plan.

Italic: course pre-requisites and co-requisites (designated by &)

Bold: Liberal Ed requirement

Print Plan

Freshman Year

Fall Semester

  • Econ 1165 Business Economics (Soc Sci) (4cr)
  • BA 2551 Business Statistics in R (Math) (4cr)
  • BA 1011 Leading Self & Teams (2cr)
  • BA 1021 Design Your Life (1cr)
  • Writ 1301 First Year Writing (4cr)

15 credits

Spring Semester

  • Acct 2051 Financial Reporting (4cr)
  • BA 2051 Solving Business Scenarios in Excel (2cr)
  • BA 2062 Powerful Problem Solving (2cr)
  • Design Your Career (1cr)
  • BA 2005 Corporate Responsibility & Ethics (Civ) (3cr) 
  • Liberal Ed (3-4cr)

15-16 credits

Sophomore Year

Fall Semester

Maroon Block I-Core

  • Mktg 3001 Principles of Marketing (3cr)
  • IDSc 3001 Information Systems & Digital Transformation (3cr)
  • BA 3001 Race, Power, & Justice in Business (RPJ) (3cr)
  • Acct 3001 Strategic Management Accounting (3cr)
  • BA 3051 Data-Driven Business Decisions (BA 2551 & BA 2051) (3cr)

15 credits

Spring Semester

Gold Block I-Core

  • Fina 3001 Finance Fundamentals (Acct 2051 & BA 2551) (3cr)
  • Mgmt 3004 Strategic Management (3cr)
  • SCO 3001 Sustainable Supply Chain Management (3cr)
  • HRIR 3021 Human Capital Management (3cr)
  • BA 3062 Impact Lab Project (BA 2062) (2cr)

15 credits

Declare a major: 
z.umn.edu/CarlsonDeclare

Junior Year

Fall Semester

  • BA 3551 Business Analytics (BA 2551 & BA 2051) (3cr)
  • Mktg 3011 Marketing Research (Mktg 3001 & statistics) (4cr)
  • Mktg 3041 Buyer Behavior (Mktg 3001) (4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (3cr)

14 credits

Spring Semester

  • BA 3033W Business Communication (3cr)
  • Marketing Foundations course (4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (3cr)
  • Elective (2cr)

16 credits

Senior Year

Fall Semester

  • Marketing Analysis course (4cr)
  • Marketing Analysis or Foundations course (4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (3cr)

15 credits

Spring Semester

  • Mktg 4081W Capstone: Marketing Strategy (Mktg 3001, 3011, 3041 & majority of major completed) (4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (3cr)
  • Elective (4cr)
  • Elective (4cr)

15 credits

Total Credits Needed for Degree: 120


Note: Students must complete an international experience as part of the program requirements. Short-term programs or semester-length programs may be used to meet this requirement. Explore your options: z.umn.edu/CarlsonIE

Additional Information

Marketing professionals may work in sales careers where they build relationships with customers and clients, understand how to price products, research competitors, and present information to customers to persuade them to buy. Other marketing professionals may specialize in brand management where they create, manage, and promote a specific brand or product line. They must know why consumers buy the things they do, what types of advertising is effective, and who the target market is. Another category of marketing professionals focuses on market research, which typically involves conducting surveys, researching buying trends, and studying the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Sample careers for Marketing majors:

  • Merchandise Analyst
  • Social Media Lead
  • Marketing Associate 
  • SEO Specialist
  • Strategy Analyst 
  • Communications Associate 
  • Digital Marketing Analyst 
  • Buyer 

Companies/Orgs that hire Marketing students:

  • Best Buy  
  • Ecolab
  • General Mills  
  • Nielsen 
  • Ovative Group 
  • Target 
  • Optum

FIND MORE MARKETING KEY CAREER INFO

Contact Undergraduate Program